Nothing More
by HecateA
Summary: Every day is a mad dash for Lily, and it feels as if everyone always needs something more from her. Well, nearly everyone. Oneshot.


**Author's Note: **Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Warnings: **Chronic anxiety; implied sex

* * *

**Stacked with: **MC4A; Shipping War; Ornate Oscillating Obelisks

**Individual Challenge(s): **Gryffindor MC (x2); Marauders Tales; Fall Leaves; Seeds; Minerva's Migraine; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Love); Themes & Things B (Surprise); Themes & Things C (Pillow); Trope It Up C (Bed sharing); Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

**Representation(s): **NA

**Bonus challenge(s):** NA

**Tertiary bonus challenge: **Oath

**Word Count: **

* * *

_**Shipping Wars**_

**Ship (Team): **James Potter/Lily Evans (Patronus Pair)

**List (Prompt): **Summer Micro 2 (Sex/smut)

* * *

_**Hogwarts Submitting Info**_

**House: **Ravenclaw

**Assignment: **Assignment #1, Alchemy, Hermeticism : Task three: Write about trying to achieve perfection.

* * *

**Nothing More**

_I hope someday, somebody wants to hold you for twenty minutes straight_

_They don't pull away, they don't look at your face_

_And they don't try to kiss you_

_All they do is wrap you up in their arms and hold on tight without an ounce of selfishness in it_

-You Matter to Me, Sara Bareilles

Lily grinned as she listened to the other girls banter as she brushed her teeth in the prefect's bathroom.

She spat out, let the tap run for a second, and then picked up strands of hair to start braiding. She was about two inches in when she realised that there were bumps in the braid snaking its way along her scalp, behind her head, and across her other shoulder.

She pulled it out and started from scratch.

Then she realised that the strands were uneven, so she pulled it out again.

"Lils?" one of the younger prefects asked. "Are you coming?"

"Nearly ready," Lily promised. "You can go to breakfast without me, I'll be right there."

* * *

On her way to the Dining Hall, she bumped into Slughorn.

"Good morning, Miss Evans," he smiled jovially. "Can I still count on your help for reorganizing the potions cabinet tonight?"

"Of course," Lily smiled. "Do you have any other students that need tutoring before the Holiday break?"

"I'll keep you posted if I do," the Potions Master smiled. "Enjoy your day, Miss Evans."

"Yes, sir," she smiled before dashing into the Dining Hall.

* * *

She stabbed her cheek with her spoon.

"Ouch," she winced.

Sirius and Marlene snickered.

"Porridge goes in your mouth, love," James said, passing her a napkin. She smiled as she took it, wiping at her cheek.

"Maybe you can put the flashcards down over breakfast?" James suggested. "To avoid any other oatmeal-related catastrophes."

"It was hardly that dramatic—nor was it that funny, _Black,_" she said.

"McGonagall's test is only next week," Remus reminded her.

"I know, but I want to make sure I get all of Elphanos' Laws memorized," Lily said. She reached for a piece of toast. "Will everyone calm down if I eat this instead?"

* * *

She sat in her Ancient Runes class and nervously went over her translation again. She hadn't found a mistake the first two times she'd looked at it, but she wanted to make sure everything was okay before she handed it in to Professor Ilya.

"Lily?" Marlene asked next to her. "Lily, I'm so sorry—I have no idea what I'm doing, I need help…"

"Okay," Lily said. "Here, don't panic, show me what you've got so far…"

As she finished chopping the ingredients for today's potion, she accidentally smashed her hand against the edge of her cauldron. She just about cursed, and shook her hand as if that would get rid at the ache. When she investigated her hand, the only trace she found was a broken nail.

Lily sighed.

* * *

During lunch, she darted over to Professor Flitwick's office. She found the Charms professor sitting at his desk, grading.

"Here," Lily said, handing over her three rolls of parchment. As she did, the broken nail caught her eye. Merlin, she hated it. "I'm sorry I'm late, I was helping Professor Slughorn tidy the lab. Thanks again for looking over my application letter for the Charms Academy."

"My pleasure," Flitwick said. Then he frowned. "Miss Evans, you've written an extra roll of parchment…"

"I know," Lily sighed. "I just wanted to make sure that everything was… that I'd done enough."

"I'm sure it is," Flitwick said. "I'll have it back to you by tomorrow."

* * *

James had smuggled a sandwich out of the Great Hall for her and snuck it to her under the table they shared in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Did everything go okay with Flitwick?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lily said. "Yeah, that was fine—there's just some drama with the first years, and I had to coax someone out of a bathroom… it's alright."

"That's good," James said. "You better eat now?"

"Can't eat in class," Lily said, screwing the lid off her pot of ink. "Hush now, lecture's about to start…"

* * *

Third-year students had cluttered around Lily, who spooned mashed potatoes into her mouth with one hand and drew out runes on sheets of parchment with the other. They watched her, fascinated.

"What Ilya really means by 'memorize Achaeus' runes' is 'understand how Achaeus actually constructed his alphabet so that you can reproduce it and translate yourself,'" Lily said. "Don't bother memorizing, it won't help and you'll panic and forget once you get to the test. Just remember the logic of it…"

"Wait," one of the girls said. "I don't understand—so that long squiggly part of the pictograph indicates _height?" _

"Yes," Lily said. "But 'height' can mean a lot of things."

"And sometimes it's a modifier," someone said.

"That's right," Lily nodded.

James didn't interrupt, he knew better, so he just put a hand between her shoulderblades and leaned it to whisper to her: "Dumbledore's on business at the Ministry; no Head Girl and Head Boy meeting tonight."

She couldn't help but feel relieved.

* * *

"I'll talk to Dumbledore and show him this petition," Lily said. "I'm really proud of it, everyone. Thank you to everyone who took the time to have their friends and housemates sign it. I think we're closer than we ever have been to stopping _The Sacred _from being delivered to Hogwarts."

The other students around her smiled as she said it, looking hopeful and pleased. Lily genuinely hoped she wasn't promising too much and that they really would be able to ban that Death Eater propaganda from the school.

"You'll update us at the next meeting, Lily?" a young girl named Deborah Schitz, the youngest member of the Muggleborn Student Union, asked.

"Of course," Lily said. "I think it's my turn to bring refreshments too, so I'll bring biscuits. Did we have any other business to attend to or did somebody else want to share something before we adjourned for today?"

"Drinks at the Three Broomsticks next Sunday," Jeremy Barette said. "Well, for those who can go…"

Lily laughed. "Alright; thanks for coming everyone."

* * *

"Don't stay up too late with this homework," Remus said, closing his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook.

"I won't," Lily promised. She was picking at the broken nail, even if she should have known better.

"You always do," Remus answered, arching an eyebrow skeptically.

"I just want to finish," Lily said.

"You are finished," Remus reminded her. "You're just going to fiddle with that one sentence in the fifth paragraph you still dislike for hours and it's not worth your time, Lily…"

"Goodnight, Remus," she said.

He kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight," he said. "I'm going to come down in ten minutes and if you're still down here, I'm going to knock down James' door and send him after you. I'm serious."

"No you're not, Moony," Lily said.

Remus sighed deeply.

* * *

"Are you going to stay for a bit?" James asked, snaking his arms around her waist. His bed was so comfortable, Lily didn't think she'd leave and go back to her lonely, cold Head Girl room even if she could. She'd had many days of locked jaws and tensed shoulders as of late, keeping her uncomfortable and awake as of late. This was a pleasant change of pace.

"Yes," Lily said, leaning her head back against his chest. He was warm and pretty comfortable too. She liked hearing his heart beat, as it slowed down and went back to its normal pace.

"Good," he said, snuggling into her. "That's my favourite part of the day."

"Sometimes we're not even lucid," Lily joked.

"I know," James said, kissing the back of her head before settling down.

Lily smiled for a second, like she often smiled when he said sweet things like that, but then she paused for a second. While she mulled the words over in her head again, James didn't move. He just held onto her and breathed in and out, softly and evenly and happily.

"James?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"You really love me don't you?" Lily said. "You… you don't want anything from me, you don't need anything from me, you just… like me."

James' hands slithered back, and he propped himself up. He was scrunching his eyes to look at her without his glasses on, but he did look a little confused too.

"Yeah," he said. "I do, Evans."

"I don't have to do anything," Lily said.

"No," James said. "No, why would you? You're a beautiful person as is."

"Oh," Lily said. "Lie down and hold me again."

"As you wish," James said. He still looked confused but he listened, and he held her a little bit more tightly too.


End file.
